Although there are still just over nine weeks to go until the Premier League returns, the fixtures for the 2013-14 season were released earlier today.
With fans up and down the country keen to see who their side will be up against on the opening day, below Sports Mole has selected five memorable encounters from the first day of previous campaigns since the Premier League was introduced back in 1992.
Southampton 3-4 Nottingham Forest, 1995
Not even a hat-trick from Matt Le Tissier was enough for the Saints to collect the points from their home encounter with Forest. Colin Cooper opened the scoring with a free kick from distance for the away side, before a brace by Bryan Roy and a strike from Ian Woan sealed the victory.
Everton 1-6 Arsenal, 2009
There are not too many teams that would fancy a trip to Goodison Park to start their season. It proved to be a stroll in the park for the Gunners though, as they went 6-0 up thanks to Cesc Fabregas (2), William Gallas, Thomas Vermaelen, Denilson and Eduardo da Silva. The home side found the net late on through Louis Saha on what was a miserable afternoon for the Toffees.
Wigan Athletic 0-4 Blackpool, 2010
Ian Holloway's Blackpool gave an indication of what was to come from them following their promotion with an entertaining display at Wigan. Summer signing Marlon Harewood was the hero, scoring twice, while Gary Taylor-Fletcher and Alex Baptiste added further goals.
Wimbledon 0-3 Manchester United, 1996
It was arguably the game and goal that changed David Beckham's life forever. Eric Cantona and Denis Irwin had put United in command at Selhurst Park, but what was to come from Beckham in stoppage time shocked everyone. He spotted Wimbledon goalkeeper Neil Sullivan off his line and from just inside his own half, he lofted the ball over the stranded stopper and into the net, making him a celebrity overnight.
Leicester City 0-5 Bolton Wanderers, 2001
Expectations were low when Bolton returned to the Premier League, but they showed that they were not there just to make up the numbers during their visit to Filbert Street. Kevin Nolan and Per Frandsen claimed two goals apiece, while Michael Ricketts also got among the scorers.
Liam Apicella
